Injured NBA superstars Giannis and Lillard to miss Buck’s game number four

After a hard-fought comeback that saw the Bucks take the Pacers to overtime in Game 3 of their first-round series, the visiting team lost more than just the game. Already without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to his continued recovery from a left calf strain, Damian Lillard reaggravated a lingering Achilles injury in the second half that seemed to hamper him quite a bit down the stretch. Both were listed as doubtful—as Giannis has been since Game 1—the initial injury report, brought worse news as both will miss Game 4.

While Dame took a hard fall in the first quarter on Friday, that isn’t what will keep him from playing. He dealt with right Achilles tendinitis late in the season (though Shams Charania also terms this an Achilles strain) and apparently, it flared back up in the closing seconds of regulation.

Lillard was in a walking boot after the game and had an MRI, which Doc Rivers wasn’t too optimistic about.

Meanwhile, Giannis remains sidelined with his soleus injury and took off in practice. He was reportedly to work out today and it initially sounded like the results of that would determine his availability. If that indeed happened, it appears he’s still in pain and not able to get on the court for Game 4 with the three-week mark from the injury that occurred in the final Celtics matchup on Tuesday, which is when Game 5 will happen.

Khris Middleton—who is probable after the ankle sprain he sustained in Game 2—nearly carried Milwaukee to victory in Game 3 with a herculean 42-point performance that included two game-tying threes at the end of regulation and the overtime period. That’s an all-time great Bucks playoff performance and while it would be very hard to replicate or exceed it, he’ll need to give them something similar for this M*A*S*H unit to have any hope of tying the series heading back to Milwaukee.